RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCHES TO UNITE WITH MOSCOW PATRIARCHATE

Serhat TUNAR -TDO- The Archbishopric of the Russian Orthodox Churches in Western Europe, whose main headquarters is located in the French capital of Paris, announced that it would unite with the Moscow Patriarchate after the decision to leave Istanbul Greek Orthodox Patriarchate.

The Archbishopric of the Russian Orthodox Church of Western Europe accepted the unification project with the Moscow Patriarchate with a 58 percent majority vote at the extraordinary general meeting held last weekend.

The Paris-based archdiocese represented the Russians who were exiled to the west after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. The Archbishopric of Russian Orthodox Churches, which began to be controlled by the Fener Greek Patriarchate in Istanbul in 1931, maintains its autonomy.

The Istanbul Greek Orthodox Patriarchate decided to reorganize the status of the Russian Orthodox Churches in Western Europe in 2018, and the Russian Orthodox Churches decided to leave the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate.